obama's tax cuts that he passed after we went over the fiscal cliff, it then loses whatever upside there was for republicans, except, and we have to mention this, for republicans vulnerable to primary challenges, there's obviously a lot of anxiety about being, you know, the first republican in 20 years to vote for a tax increase. i think that's the big fear, that it's been so long. republicans haven't cast this kind of vote. you don't want to be the first one to do it. >> yeah, and charles, we're told the democrats may be waiting until the very last minute. maybe they're banking on pressure and the gop caving. what should americans make of that? with so much at stake here? >> i don't think it is. i think there's gamesmanship on both sides, that's obviously true, but i think democrats understand they get a better deal out of this if they actually go over the cliff. what the president was offering, his last round of offers, was in fact something that a lot of democrats and liberals did not take kindly to. in fact, when boehner was not able to pass plan b, he threw the president a lifeline